Tire and method of making the same.



vF. W. KREMER. URE AID IETHQIJ 0F MAKING l'lE SAME.

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L lo n s um :l ml Patented Apr. 23, 1918 a suina-:user l.

QCA-IQ 08,1578

F. W. KREMER.

mE Arm minion or MAKING THE SAME. APPLICATION FILED MH.3I. |918.

1,263,681 Patented Apr. 23,1918.

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IN VEN 70H ZMM am @im @M l TTOHNE YS F. W. KREMER.

me AND METHOD oF MAKING me SAME.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

APPLICATION FILED IMLBI. 12H8.

FRANKLIN W. KREMER, OF RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY.

TIRE AND METHOD OF `1lIA.KI1\I( :"r THE SAME.

Application led January 31, 191-8.

To all `wlw/n. it may concern:

Beit known that I, F RANKLIN lnnirnig a cltlzen of the 'United States, residing at 8 East Newell avenue, Rutherford, county of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, have in vented a new and useful Improvement in Tires and Methods of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a method of, and apparatus for, manufacturing tires. and to a new and improved tire made thereby.

Two broad methods of manufacturing tires have been particularly developed in recent years in the art. The rst method is for making fabric tires, and the second is for making cord tires.

Fabric tires are constructed by superposing layers of rubberized fabric, cut on the las, These fabric tires in recent years have been largely constructed on tire machines which are provided with means for spinning down the sides of the fabric around the core during therapid rotation of the core.

Cord tires are constructed on a core by Weaving cords backward and forward on the core or entirely around the core. Sometimes the cords are applied to the core one strand at `a time. In other cases. a number of strands of cord are held in parallelism with each` other by relatively Weak binding or cross-threads.

4Both the fabric and the cord tires have certain advantages and disadvantages.

The principal advantagey of the fabric vtire is that lit is easily and quickly `built by machine methods. and is sulliciently strong for general purposes. One of the disadvantages .of the fabric tire, experience, is that in a very high percentage of instances it. blows out along one side of .to appear on the thetira` these blow-outs showing a tendency same side of large numbers ofti-res. f" The cord tire is strong and durable and is used Aunder circumstances making more than 'ordinary demands upon the tire. Its disadvantages are that heretofore it hasl been almost, if not quite.` impossible to make` at least the multe-cord tire'byrmachine. and in all cord tires the construction has been more intricate and slower. and generally more expensive than with fabric tires.

I have made certain dlscoveries` which Specication of Letters Patent.

upon each other on a suitable core.`

as developed by recent "enable me'to increase the advantages and Patented Apr. 23, 1918. ser-iai No. 214,667

decrease the disadvantages in the manufacture of both fabric and cord tires by machine. I have discovered the source of the Weakness on one side of the fabric tires. and have devised means for overcoming that Weakness, which means are also adapted for the manufacture of cord tires by machine methods.

In order to understand the nature of these discoveries and of the'means devised for ,overcoming the disadvantages in the machine-manufacture of fabric and cord tires. it is necessaryv to consider the nature of the fabric from which the ordinary fabric tire is constructed. This fabric is a strong woven fabric made up of the Warp threads which in the weaving operation are held under tension, and the weft or non-tension threads which are shuttled back and forth through theVWarp-thr'eads. The tension of the fabric resides in the Warp threads, and' I have discovered that it is the improper application of these Warp threads to the core in the machine manufacture of tires which is responsible for the high pereccntage of breaks in one side of the tire, and by overcoming this improper application of the warp threads, I am enabled to eliminate this weakness in o'ne side of the tire. and thus largely increase the wearing qualities of the fabric tire.

As a preliminary to applying the fabric t0 the core. it is cut ,on the bias in narrow strips, the object being to provide a lazytong arrangement of the Warp and weft threads which will enable them to be easily and quicklyr molded into a trough shape on the core, and thus Worked down around the sides of the'core. Ihave discovered that the ordinary tire machine spins "down the warp threads of the fabric properl)Y on one side of ther rotating core and improperly on the other side. The reason for this is that vvhile'the spinner on one side of the tire stretchesiworks or spins down the warp threads in adirection lengthwise thereof. so asto preserve and even increase the tension fofthe thread, the spinning devices on the opposite side serve. by reason of the relative movement. of the rotating core andthe spinner, to exertfsuch action on the warp threads as not to preserve their tension.` and as even .to tend to lessen the tension by slightly d e- Hecting the warp threads in Ya direction opposite tothe rotation of the core. l

I have also discovered ythat it is this same opposition or disharmony between the diagonal direction at which the warpor tension threads cross the core, thus causingV the spinning devices on oneside of the tire to act properly, and those on the opposite side to act improperl ,which interferes in a prac.- tical way with t ie manufacture of cord tires by machine methods, and by overcoming this disharmony, I am, as above stated, not only able to eliminate the weakness in the fabric tire, but also to provide for the machine manufacture ofcord tires.

The nature of my discoveries and invention will be made clear by the following description in connection with the accomkanying drawing forming pa'rt of this specication, it being understood that the particular embodiment of machine, method and tire, as hereinafter disclosed, 1s merely intended to illustrate one means of carrying out the invention, and that the combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter disclosed, may be altered in many wa s within the scope of the claims and as in icated by the variations in the claims, without departing from the spirit of4 the. inven-` tion.

Figure l is a side view, artly in elevation and partly in section, o a tire machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in horizontal section, of the .core reversing and spinning mechanism.

Fig. 4 is ayiew showing the method of cutting the fabric on the bias.

Fig. 5 is a view illustratin the method ofl spinning down the sides o the fabric on the core.

`Like reference numerals indicate corres ending parts in the different figures of t e drawing. 1

Referring to Fig. 4, the strip of fabric 1, having the warp or tension threads extending lengthwise thereof, is cut on the bias into a series of strips 2. These strips are laid lengthwise on a core such as is shown in Fig. 5, with the result that both the Warp and the weft threads of the fabric extend diagonally on the core. 'y In the ordinary manufacture of fabric`tires, spinning devices 3, diagrammatically illustrated .in Fig. 5, are employed for spinning down or shaping the sides of the fabri to and aroundv the core. The core is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and by assuming that in Fig..5 the warp threads are those which begin at the bottom of'the figure and extend upward and to the right of the figure on a diagonal line, it will be seen that only the lower of the two spinning devices .3, is in a position to spin down the warp threads in such man ner as to preserve their tension and properl warp threads under'the same tension as the spinner acting on the other side of the tire. It is this fact, namely thathe warp threads on one side ofV the median line of the core extend diagonally rearward of the line of movement of the rotating core, and that on the opposite side of the tire they extend diagonally forward 4of the line of ,move ment, that I attribute the weakness on one side of fabric tires. This weakness I have found develops. on that side of the tire in which the warp threads extend diagonally forward, with theresult that the spinning mechanism tends not only to prevent them from hayv ing the same tension as the rearwardly extending warp threads on the opposite side, but even to decrease the tension of the warp threads by serving relatively to brushthem rearward and a little to one side. The deflection itself is very slight, but the fact ofthere Abeing no tension of the warp vthreads on one sideof the tire, produces the great element of weakness to which I refer.

The broad means which I have devised for overcoming this defect in the manufacture of tires, consists in the embodiment shown in employing one of the spinners 3. such as that shown at the bottom of Fig. 5. This spinner is used so long as the core ro tatesf in the direction of the arrow, for the purpose of spinning down the lower half of the fabric in Fig. 5. I then reverse the rotation of the core. This causes the upper half of the warp threadsA in Fig. 5 to extend dia onally rearward ofv the line of ro tation'o the core, and I can then properly spin down the upper half of the'core. .It will be obvious that this same method and machine can .be used for spinning downV opf posits sides of a tire made from -cord or cord 115 abric. Such' machine spinninghas not heretofore been possible with cord fabric, by reason of the fact that the spinner on one side would deflect the cords and spin them down without putting them under tension.

The machine by which the foregoingY results are accomplished 'will now be specifically described: ,y

This machine comprises a suitable base l, on which is mounted the spinning mechanism indicated generally by A, the rotary core B, the mechanism for revcrsingjhc f. rotation of the core and for swinging'or rotating it around an axis at a right angle to its axis' of rotation indicated by C, the 130 r driving shaft 14. The shaft 14 drives the,

ynaeaesx yfabric is. made up ,when the reel is not used G. ,Y

h The driving mechanism D is mounted in a suitable casing 5', and'comprises a motor or other source of energy 6, provided with a inion 7, which drives at a reduced speed. a arge ear wheel 8, mountedmu on a main drive s aft 9, which is suitably journaled in the frame 5, and isfixed thereon a pinion 10, which drives a gear wheel 11, fixed on a slow shaft 12. The fixed gear 11 is in gear with a inion 13, which runs loosely on a fast core B through suitable gearing to be hereinafter described. The pinion 13 is fixed on A a sleeve 15, which has yfeathered or splined thereon a clutch 16, capable of sliding into and out of engagement with a combination clutch 17, connected with a gear Wheel 18, fixed on the shaft 14, and in mesh with a pinion 19, which is fixed on a sleeve20, which in turn is splined or feathered on the shaft 12. Y

The mechanism byv which the clutch member 16 can be engaged with the clutch member 17, at the same time that the pinion 19 is moved out of gear With the gear wheel 18, and vice versa, consists of a lever handle 21, which is disposed near the spinning mechanism and is fulcrumed at 22. Pivotally connected with the lever 21 1at 23 is a connecting rod 24,l which is pivotally connected at 25 with a shifting lever` 26, fulcrumed at 27 on the stationarybearing sleeve 28 in which, as hereinafter described. the mechanism for rotating the supporting frame'for the core B is mounted. lIyhe shifting lever 26 is provided with a slot y 29 enaging a pin 30, Aby means of which the s eeve 20, carrying the pinion y19 is moved longitudinally on its spline. the shifting lever 26 is a connecting rod 30,

` which operates a 'lever 31, f'ulcrumed at 32,

'upon a bracket 33, and engaging at its upper end a pin 34, by which the clutch member 16 is' shifted into and' out of engagement with Vthe clntchmember 17. yBy th'rovvingthe handle 21 in one direction, the, pinion 19 slides ontl of engagement `with the'gear '1 8, and the clutch 1.6 engages the 'clutch 17, with the result that the drive shaft 14 is rotated rapidly, forsp'inning down the' fabric on the core B. By `moving the handle 2,1 inthe opposite direction. the "clutches 1 6 and 17 are disengaged and the pinipn' 1941s' moved -mto gear with the wheel 18` with the result .that 'the'shaft 414 is driven in the same direction but at asloyver rate of speed for the purpose of draiving the strips of fabric on to the core.

Connected with The mechanism by which the core B is 'rotated either forward or backward, and by which it is capable of turning on an axis at right angles to its axis of rotation, will now be described: This mechanism comprises a. large stub shaft 35, mounted in the journal 28, and held therein by a sleeve or collar 36.

The stub shaft 35; best shovvn in Fig. 3, carries at its outer end a rigid arm 37, havin at its outer end a bearing 38, for the sha t '39, on which is rotatably mounted the core B. This core is provided with a hub or sleeve 40, having fixed thereon a gear wheel 41, in mesh with a train of ears 42, 43, 44 andr45, each mounted u War on a shaft carried Vby the. arm 37. he gear wheel 45 is fixed on a shaft 46, which is jonrnaled at one end in the arm 37, and at the other end in a short arm 47, carried by the stub shaft 35. Keyed or splined on the shaft 46 is a sleeve 48, having fixed thereon two oppositely facing beveled gears 49 and 50, capable of being alternately thrown into engagement with a beveled gear 51, which is fixed on the shaft 14. It will be remembered that this shaft 14 is capable of being driven forward at high andlov speed, By moving the beveled wheel 49 into engagement with the beveled wheel 51 on the shaft 14, the core B is rotated in one direction, and by moving the beveled wheel I50 into engagement with the beveledivheel 51, at the same time disengagdlocked against rotation on its axis or sha t 35 by means of a spring-operated bolt 55,

4best shown in Fig. 1. This bolt 55 is springpressed upward so as to lock into any one 0f VAfour notches 56.` cut into a iiange 57. which is fixed on the shaft or vaxis 35 of the core frame. The spring-pressed bolt 55 is provided with a connecting rod 58, extending 'down to a foot treadle 59. By depressing the treadle 59. the bolt 55 is drawn downward, and the operator canthen rotate the core-holding arm 37 on its axis 35.

The spinning mechanism A may be of any suitable form rand construction. I prefer tomount iton a base 61. on which the pedestal 62 is capable of sliding back and "forth andV of'being locked in any suitable position by a spring-controlled treadle 63.

uhaving a pin 64 which fits into anyone of a number of sockets in the base 61. and is released by depressing the treadle with the met. Mounted on the base 62 is a pedestal 65, on which the spinner supporting arm 66 is pivoted for rotation around a vertical axis. The spinner 66 Ais locked in any of the y.sitions to which it has been rotated b means of a spring-operated bolt 67, whic 'lrgages into notches 68, cut in a flange 69 fixed on the pedestal 65. The bolt 67 is released by means of a handle 70. The pedestal base 62 is. moved back and forth by means of the lever handle 71, which is con-1 nected with the base 62 through the rod 72. lhe spinning mechanism carried by the arm 66, may be of anv suitable type, which it' is unnecessary to describe lin detail further than to Isay that the reference numeral 73 indicated the s inning reel.

After the'fa ric has been fed on to the core B and is ready to be spun down, the core is rotated forward at a fast speed and the s inner 73 is held against that side of the abric in which the warp threads extend diagonally rearward relative to the direction of movement of the core. When one side ofthe fabric has thus been spun down so as to maintain the roper position and tension of the warp t reads, the core is sto'ped, the treadle 59 is de ressed to' unloc the core-holding arm, w ch is then rotated, sothat it brings the opposite side of the core from that shown in Fig. 1, into position to be engaged by the spinner 73. The lever handle 52 is operated so as to reverse the 'rotation of the core, andthe remaining side of the fabricis'thus spun down in the proper way, to preserve or produce the necessary tension on the warp threads.

Instead of rotatingthe core frame 37 in order tu' bring the opposite side of the core against the spinner 73, I may accomplish thesaine result by mov' g the spinner 7 3 to the opposite` side lof t e core B, and their vreversing the direction of rotation .of the 'core,`for, as indicated in Fig. 5, I may employ two spinners 3,-3. It is not possible, however, to emplo both of these spinners at' the same time. l`he lower spinner can be brought into operation when the core is traveling in the direction of the arrow. By

Ai.; then reversing the rotation of the core and withdrawing it, anti emplptyin'g only the upper spinner 3,' the upper si e of the fabric can be spun down in such manner as to preservev the tension on the warg threads. I prefer, however, to maintain t e spinner or stitcher 73 on one side of the4 core, and to rotate the core-holdingarm for the reason that thisenables the operator to Work with the fabric travelin toward him from aboye, insteadof from be ow, and thusenables hlm tojperform his work much more efficiently than would be possible by shifting the s inner to the other si e ofthe core, and t en 4:Mating it backward.

"he methodl of the present invention, as

.i thereof, and while' I will beobvious, can also be carried out on a core which rotates in only one direction, by spinning down one side of the fabric and t en removing the tire and reversing it and reapp 4ing it to the core, so that the opposite s1 e .of the fabric can be spun down in the proper way. As before stated, however 'the preferable and most practical metho of carrying out the process is that which consists in emplying a reversible core mounted on l a reversible frame, as this method permits both sides of the fabric to be spun down easily and quickly in the proper way.

The tension mechanism E may be of any desired form and construction. As illustrated, it'consists of a gear wheel 80, best shown in Fig. 1, which is fixed on the shaft 14, and meshes with a bevel gear 81 on a shaft 8,2, shown in Fig. 2. The shaft 82 has fixed thereon a gear wheel 83, which meshes with a gear wheel 84, mounted on a stub shaft 85, which is slidably adjusted in a slot in the lever 86, fulcrumed on the shaft 82. Different sizes of gear wheel 84 may be mounted on the slidable shaft 85, in such manner that no matter what the size of the gear 84 may be, it still meshes with the gear 83, and drives the tension and feed'rollers. This form of gear has been patented to me ,ini an earlier patent, and in its details forms no part of the present invention. The gear 84 drives a sprocket87, which o erates a .sprocket chain 88, engaging a sproc et 89 on a shaft 90. Fixed on the shaft 90 is a gear wheel 91, which meshes with a lower gear wheel 92. The gear wheels 91 and-92 are duplicated on opposite sides of the machine., and serve to drive pressing rollers which ,serve the double function of feedin the fabric at a predetermined s eed relative to the slow-speed rotation of t e core B, and yet grips said fabric so as to prevent it from slipping, and thus enable it to be put under the necessa tension. The upper feed roll is raised an lowered by means ofthe .crank handle 94 and the gearing operated thereby. The details of this gearing orm no part of the resent ihvention.

T e material to be fed through the feeding and tension mechanism E, ma be delivered from the reel F, through a s ot 95, and

across the table 96. Sometimes, instead of feeding the fabric from the reel, it is prefenable to make it up in the form of sheets on the table 97, which is hinged to the table 96, as shown at 98. The various plies of fabric are made up on the table 97, and are tacked together and fed through the feed and ten- :sion rolls to the core.

While I have described the manufacture of tires by spinning down the warp threads in such manner as vto preserve the tension prefer to follow this ico practice, nevertheless 1t is to be understood 13o that .I may select the weft threads for spinning down and in this case, I find that it is possible to put them under a considerable measure of tension by means of the spinning operation. The operation is the same as when spinning down 'the warp threads. The weft threads on one side are spun down. The core is flopped over and rotated in the opposite direction and the weft threads on the other side are spun down.

I claim as my invention:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a tire having the fabric worked down lengthwise of the warp threads on both sides of the median line of the tire.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a ma.- chine-made tire having the fabric spun down lengthwise of the warp threads on both sides of the median line of the tire.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a machine-made tire having its warp threads worked lengthwise thereof on both sides of the median line of the tire.

4. A method of manufacturing tires on a tire machine which consists in workin down one side of the tire inthe direction engthwise of the warp or tension threads, reversing the core and rotatin it in the opposxte direction and spinning own the other side of the tire.

5. A method of manufacturing tires, which consists in working down the fabric lengthwise of the warp threads on both sides of the median line of the tire.

6. A method of manufacturing tires on a tire machine, which consists in rotating both sides of the tire in such direction that both sides of the warp or tension threads incline rearward relative to the direction of movement, and spinning down said warp threads.

7. A method of manufacturing tires which consists in selecting the warp or weft threads to be spun down, spinnin down the selected threads on one side of t e median line, so as to stretch them, and then separately spinning down the opposite side of the tire in an opposite direction, whereby to spin both sides of the tire uniformly.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a machine made tire having its principal cords spun down lengthwise thereof on both sides of the median line of the tire.

FRANKLIN W. KREMER. 

